The brave John Montcovino received the full support of the Pope, who chose for him a hundred pious and intelligent clergymen from all over Europe to accompany him. www.biquge.info The Pope also recruited three hundred brave knights in the name of the Crusaders to protect them along the way, a well-paid and promising errand for many poor knights, so much so that the Pope had to try to suppress the excessive enthusiasm of the knights. In addition, more than three hundred merchants and craftsmen volunteered to follow. If we can open up a trade route to the East and get rid of the exploitation of the Arabs, the profits will be extremely amazing! With the protection of the Pope, of course they are going. Among them, there were dozens of merchants from noble backgrounds, who were even more active, and some even secretly asked Pope Nicholas III for the right to operate the trade route!

Because just two months ago, the Holy See received a box of contributions from the East. Among them, there are two mirrors with the size of human faces, the light is recognizable, and the clarity is incomparable, and it immediately shook the Holy See, and it is considered a miracle of God! There were also a number of soaps, perfumes and refined salts, which also became the exclusive property of the pope, and were not sold on the market at all, only occasionally among the Roman aristocracy, and the price far exceeded that of gold!

The Romans didn't know that these things were all invented by Cheng Yue, they only knew that these magical goods came from the East, and if they could bring back a batch from the East to Rome, they would become extremely rich in one fell swoop!

After two months of preparation and overt and covert contention, the Pope finally determined the final list, and a large delegation of more than 700 people embarked on the road to the East. The Pope not only wrote personal letters to Kublai Khan, Cheng Yue, and Timur, but also ordered John Mendekovino to bring Rudolf I a personal letter, asking him to protect the mission along the way, and it would be better to send them directly to meet Timur, so that they would not be harmed by other greedy Kipchak Khanate people along the way. As long as they see Timur, they don't have to worry about the rest of the matter.

It was the first time that John Mendecovino had left Rome with such a large procession, and he was not only burdened with a heavy responsibility, but also carried a large amount of gold and silver treasures with him, but his devotion to Christianity made him fearless, and he was convinced that God would let him reach the East safely, and that God's mercy would illuminate that dark corner!

To the north of Italy, Germany's most powerful king, Rudolf I of Habsburg, was preparing for a decisive battle with King Ottokar II of Bohemia.

Rudolf I was crowned King of Germany five years ago and is the founder of the historic Habsburg dynasty. His original territory included southern Alsace and northern Switzerland, and he seized Austria and Styria through the war against Ottokar II, but because the German emperor did not have much power, Rudolf I was actually able to govern very little, and he did not have any knowledge of state affairs, so he did not govern very well.

The Kingdom of Bohemia reached its peak under the reign of Otto Kar II, and its territory included the Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and the Baltic Sea, and participated in several Crusades. But because he coveted the position of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (which can also be considered the Emperor of Germany), Ottokar II entered into a fierce confrontation with Rudolf I. The princes of the German states did not want to see non-Germans become emperors of Germany and Rome, and several important dukes and counts were cousins or marriages with Rudolf I, so most of them supported Rudolf I, isolating Ottokar II, and Rudolf I was crowned Emperor of Germany at Aachen Cathedral.

In order to gain recognition from the Holy See, Rudolf I renounced German rights in Sicily and the Papal States, donated some land to the Pope, and promised to organize another crusade. Pope Gregory X recognized Rudolf's position despite Ottokar II's objections, and persuaded Alfonso X of Castile, another non-fictional Holy Roman Emperor, to also recognize Rudolf.

In 1257, the German princes elected Charles of Cornwall, England, and Alfonso X, King of Castile of Spain, as Holy Roman Emperors, but neither monarch remained in Germany, but returned to their respective territories, so the throne was in a virtual vacancy, known as the Great Vacancy Period.

The vacancy of the throne caused the princes to split, the lords of various places vied for land and people, the knights who could not support themselves plundered merchants and peasants everywhere, and Germany fell into chaos, and Rudolf I took advantage of the situation.

After Rudolf I ascended the throne, he did something in both civil and military terms, but Ottoka II was very angry that he had been treated unjustly, refused to recognize Rudolf I, and refused to participate in the Imperial Council to redistribute the feudal fiefdoms three times in order to stop the Imperial Council from depriving him of the territories he had seized. Rudolf I then filed a lawsuit at the Imperial Assembly, which passed a law deposing Otoka II. Ottoka II was not convinced, and fought with the German states led by Rudolf I, who had lost a large part of his territory in the war two years earlier and was forced to swear allegiance to Rudolf I, who also intended to marry Ottokar II. However, Ottoka II was not content to be defeated, and after some intense preparations, he tried to fight a decisive battle with Rudolf I, supported by Poland, Germany, and some Bohemian princes, who also had the support of the Hungarian king and several counts, and intended to unite the German states to attack Ottoka II, and was now in the calm before the great war between the two countries. And the territory of Otto Kar II was only a third of its heyday, and the Holy See was not optimistic about the prospects of Ottoka II, believing that Ottoka II's defeat was imminent.

Johann Mendekovino arrived in Aachen without much effort, and immediately went to see Rudolf I. Rudolf I, who was nearly sixty years old this year, was very tall, with a high nose, and a pale but energetic face, and when he heard that the papal mission had arrived, he immediately received John Montcovino.

The two exchanged salutes, and John Montcovino took out the Pope's handwritten letter to Rudolf I and handed it over.

Rudolf I took the letter, read it carefully, was very surprised, put down the letter and pondered for a long time, imagining all kinds of possibilities, Rudolf I was old in politics, and soon understood the Pope's intentions, so he asked: "Dear bishop, when will the Mongol expedition to the west begin?" ”